Indian Thanksgiving

Before I get to the non-turkey day, I want to make sure I mention the Indian Trade FairApparently ever year in Delhi there is this huge fair, like on the magnitude of the Minnesota State Fair for those who get that reference. This year, like the world fair in shanghai, the theme was something like better earth better life, putting the focus on sustainable, Eco friendly living. There were about 19 huge pavilions that showcased everything from kitchen supplies, clothes, toys, and jewelry to new biochemical technologies and cars. There was a separate pavilion for each of the states, all dressed up with elaborate displays. There were also stalls from many other countries as well showing off the best they had to offer, pearls, dried fruits, clothes, lamps, glass, crystal and more from Turkey, Burma, Cambodia and basically all over asia. It was quite overwhelming and I basically just walked around and got lost for 3 hours. Of course every fair needs food. There were also food stalls from all over India, however i wasn't very hungry so I only had some momos (dumplings) and kulfi (a saffron local icecream). There were tons of interesting things, but I restrained myself to just enjoy them with my eyes.

When I first arrived Seina mentioned that we should do thanksgiving. I was really excited by the idea since it is my favorite holiday, and this will be the first one that I can remember I have missed. As the time got closer, I offered to make the thanksgiving for the family since they have been so generous and kind to me. However, I soon found that making a Thanksgiving meal in India would be c challenging. In planning the meal I found that Turkey is very hard to come by, as is canned pumpkin, cranberries, corn, and ovens...so in lieu of these basics here is the Thanksgiving menu I devised.

-cumin deviled eggs for appetizer
-mashed potatoes with garlic, shallots and Rosemary
-orange and whiskey carrots braised with cinnamon and nutmeg
-green beans with roasted almonds with lemon, thyme and butter
-savory bread pudding with celery, mushrooms, and pinenute
-leg of lamb instead of turkey
- chocolate mousse infused with orange and chai and some cardamom/whiskey whipped cream

It isn't quite the thanksgiving i am used to, but I am still excited for it. Seina was going to make an apple pie, but I think she has gotten stuck at work which is why I am writing this instead of eating right now. I have no idea how anything turned out but I am hungry.

It has been quite interesting explaining that this indeed is a huge holiday in the United States where what we do is eat, get together and at least theoretically give thanks.

I spent all of today and a bit of yesterday cooking. In someways it was the most challenging thanksgiving and in others ways one of the easiest. The lack of ingredients and working in a whole new style of kitchen was the biggest challenge. Another challenge was trying to cook 6 dishes while the maid, Lakshmi, who was also making food for the family in the same small kitchen. When she wasn't cooking, she and the other maids would be attentively looking over my shoulder to see what I was doing. Whenever I needed something like black pepper, a rather hilarious play of charades ensued. Lakshmi was amazing. Once she understood anything I was doing she was the best sous chef, prepping anything I wanted and cleaning up everything. I gotta say, cooking without cleaning anything takes out so much work. We had a fun time giggling trying to figure out what each other was doing, and I made sure she tasted everything we made. I wanted to give her a plate of food but she went home before we ate.

My one cooking disaster were the mashed potatoes, the one thing i nought wouldn't be an issue. However after cooking them and they turned all gluey. I tried to salvage them, but gave up. Fortunately with the magic power of a pressure cooker, boiling them again only took like 10 min.

Tomorrow Seina and I venture off to southern India! First we fly to Bangalore and go straight to Mysore to see the palace. Then we go to hampi to see these awesome ruins I actually studied at school. Then we will leave karnatika for goa to hit up some beaches. Then we go further south to Kerela to relax in some back water jungles. The next post will no doubt be long and full of pictures. Until then everyone have a happy and safe thanksgiving, I am so very grateful for you all.